4 Steps to Help Your Ensemble Get Organized in 2018

Let’s jump right in:

1. Review and Update Ensemble Procedures: Do you have a “Roles and Responsibilities” document? Operational Plan? Review these and update accordingly.  If you don’t have a document that specifies roles and responsibilities for your ensemble, consider creating one. This document should lay out the positions within your ensemble, what each individual is responsible for, and possibly additional items like how decisions are made, when certain tasks are completed, etc. Once created or updated, gather your team together and get everyone on the same page in terms of roles and responsibilities.
2. Set Up Schedules: Consider setting up schedules for social media posts, email newsletters, event planning tasks, grant writing tasks, tax and financial work, and more. Sound too rigid for your work style? Try scheduling just one or two ongoing tasks and see how that feels. You may find that setting a schedule for certain tasks will help you be productive and stay accountable.
3. Review and Utilize Tools: There are many free (and non-free) tools and apps available to help you stay organized and productive. That said, using too many tools can get complicated and cumbersome. So, don’t overdo it. But explore tools that might help your team work effectively. This is going to vary based on your unique situation. Does your team typically email documents back and forth during collaboration and review? Or do you use something like Google Docs, Dropbox, or Asana? Do you have conference calls or webinars? Do you use Skype, Google Hangouts, GoToMeeting? Do you have some kind of shared calendar in Microsoft Outlook, Trello, or Google Calendar? If you are not familiar with some of these, look them up and see if they would be useful to your team. Review the tools you are currently using and make sure they are working for you and your team.
4. Look Ahead: Look ahead to the next month. What needs to happen? What are the priorities? What can you do next month to be most prepared for the month after that? Then look ahead 3 months, 6 months, and through the end of the year. What projects you do want to have completed? What projects do you want to have started? Look at 2018 in both shorter term chunks (2 weeks, 1 month) and long term pieces (3 months, 6 months, 1 year).  This helps you plan and prioritize your goals.